Arabic

 Where Do We Go Now?
(Et maintenant on va où?)
Directed by Nadine Labaki
(France/Lebanon/Egypt/Italy, 2011
A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village. (Arabic, Russian and English)
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., May 18

Czech

Little Otik
Directed by Jan Svankmajer
(Czech Republic/U.K./Japan, 2000, 132 min.)
Inspired by the folk tale “Otesánek,” in which a childless couple adopts a tree stump and treats it as their own baby, the “Little Otik” of the title grows disturbingly large and eventually consumes everything in its path.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., May 27, 4:30 p.m.

English

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Directed by John Madden
(U.K., 2012, 124 min.)
A group of British retirees decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by ads for the newly restored Marigold Hotel, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self.
AFI Silver Theatre
Opens Fri., May 11
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., May 4

The Cherry Orchard
Directed by Michael Cacoyannis
(Greece/France/Cyprus, 1999, 141 min.)
A spoiled, aging aristocratic lady returns from a trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate after a default on the mortgage. (English and French)
National Gallery of Art
Sun., May 20, 4 p.m.

Chimpanzee
Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield
(Tanzania/U.S., 2012, 78 min.)
Working together, a chimpanzee and his family — including his mom and the group’s savvy leader — navigates the complex territory of the forest.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story
Directed by Jonathan Gruber and Ari Daniel Pinchot
(U.S., 2012, 84 min.)
In 1976 Uganda, led by Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, crack Israeli commandos burst inside a non-descript airline terminal, killing stunned terrorists and evacuating 103 hostages. A lone shot sounds in the night, and Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lay dead.
The Avalon Theatre
Opens Fri., May 4

Gambit
Directed by Ronald Neame
(U.S., 1966, 109 min.)
Cockney cat burglar Michael Caine enlists the aid of Hong Kong hoofer Shirley MacLaine to distract wealthy art collector Herbert Lom long enough for Caine to swipe a priceless objet d’art.
AFI Silver Theatre
Tue., May 15, 7 p.m.,
Wed., May 16, 9:30 p.m.

Hidalgo
Directed by Joe Johnston
(U.S., 2004, 136 min.)
Viggo Mortensen stars as an American cowboy who competes with his mustang Hidalgo in the Ocean of Fire, a 3,000-mile-long race across the Arabian Desert traditionally reserved for purebred Arabian horses,
AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., May 13, 7:45 p.m.

The Island President
Directed by Jon Shenk
(U.S., 2011, 101 min.)
This documentary looks at the tiny islands of the Maldives and the country’s first democratically elected president (recently ousted in a coup), Mohamed Nasheed, as he fights to sound the alarm about climate change. (English and Dhivehi)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Lady
Directed by Luc Besson
(France/U.S., 2011, 127 min.)
Michelle Yeoh stars in the story of Aung San Suu Kyi, as she becomes the core of Burma’s democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris. (English and Burmese)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Man from Snowy River
Directed by George Miller
(Australia, 1982, 102 min.)
Kirk Douglas heads to the Australian lowlands to earn enough money to buy back his family’s ranch and horses, playing two brothers who haven’t spoken in years: one a peg-legged old prospector, the other a heartless rancher in this down-under Western.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., May 13, 3:30 p.m.

Marley
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
(U.S./U.K., 2012, 145 min.)
Director Kevin Macdonald’s documentary of Bob Marley is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
(U.K., 1975, 89 min.)
King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, converting Arthurian legend into uncontrollable lunacy.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Passenger
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
(Italy/France/Spain, 1975, 126 min.)
Journalist Jack Nicholson is covering a conflict in North Africa. When he discovers the dead body of an acquaintance who resembled him, he assumes the dead man’s identity to explore his life — which turns out to be a dangerous one.
AFI Silver Theatre

May 12 to 17
Patton
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
(U.S., 1970, 172 min.)
George C. Scott’s magnetic, Oscar-winning performance as controversial General George S. Patton, Jr. ranks as one of the screen’s great larger-than-life performances, as he recounts the battles of North Africa and the liberation of France.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., May 27, 1 p.m.,
Mon., May 28, 1 p.m.

Pom Poko
Directed by Isao Takahata
(Japan, 1994, 119 min.)
A forest-dwelling Japanese community of tanuki — mysterious, mischievous raccoon-like creatures with the power to change shape — rallies into action to defend their homes from a new housing development.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 12, 11:05 a.m.,
Sun., May 13, 11:05 a.m.

Porco Rosso
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
(Japan, 1992, 94 min.)
The star of this animated film is a swashbuckling tough guy aviator who just happens to be a pig, doing battle with pirates and other evildoers in 1920s Italy.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 5, 11:30 a.m.,
Sun., May 6, 11 a.m.

Princess Mononoke
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
(Japan, 1997, 134 min.)
This epic fable on ecology and spirituality set a new benchmark in philosophical and artistic sophistication for anime, as a pack of wolf-gods and their titular warrior princess, a girl they raised from a foundling, defend their forest home from the encroachment of humans and the malefaction of marauding demons.
AFI Silver Theatre
May 25 to 28

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Directed by Lasse Hallström
(U.S., 2012, 111 min.)
A visionary sheik believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, so he enlists the help of a British fisheries expert and overzealous press secretary to bring the sport to the not-so-fish-friendly desert.
AFI Silver Theatre

Surviving Progress
Directed by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks
(Canada, 2011, 86 min.)
This intelligent and compelling documentary explores the concept of progress in our modern world, guiding us through a sweeping but detailed survey of the major “progress traps” facing our civilization in the arenas of technology, economics, consumption and the environment.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Whisper of the Heart
Directed by Yoshifumi Kondô
(Japan, 1995, 111 min.)
Through a curious and magical incidents during her summer vacation before high school, Shizuku meets and establishes a connection to Seiji — who dreams of becoming a famous violinmaker in Italy, while she aspires to become a writer.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 19, 11:05 a.m.,
Sun., May 20, 11:05 a.m.,
Mon., May 21, 6:45 p.m.

Wings of Desire
(Der Himmel über Berlin)
Directed by Wim Wenders
(W. Germany/France, 1987, 128 min.)
After an eternity of looking after mortal beings, observing their lives, their loves, their passions and pains, intrigued angel Bruno Ganz decides to join them, crossing over to live life as they do and discovering love with a circus acrobat.
AFI Silver Theatre
May 25 to 29

French

Elles
Directed by Malgoska Szumowska
(France/Poland/Germany, 2011, 96 min.)
A provocative exploration of female sexuality, “Elles” stars the fearless Juliette Binoche as a well-off Parisian journalist investigating the lives of two student prostitutes for a magazine article.
The Avalon Theatre

Farewell, my Queen
(Les adieux à la reine)
Directed by Benoît Jacquot
(France, 2012, 100 min.)
At the eve of the French Revolution, aristocrats and servants desert the palace of Versailles, leaving the royal family alone. But Sidonie Laborde, a young queen’s reader, refuses to flee, feeling secure under the protection of Marie-Antoinette.
La Maison Française
Mon., May 21, 7 p.m.

Free Men
(Les homes libres)
Directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi
(France, 2011, 99 min.)
In World War II Paris, an Algerian immigrant is inspired to join the resistance by his unexpected friendship with a Jewish man.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., May 4

Monsieur Lazhar
Directed by Philippe Falardeau
(Canada, 2011, 94 min.)
At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom, and while helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed. (French, English and Arabic)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Polisse
Directed by Maïwenn
(France, 2011, 127 min.)
This smash hit from France follows the daily lives of a tight-knit team of men and women working in the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian police.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., May 25

German

The Last Hour of Elena and Nicolae Ceausescu
(Die letzten Tage der Ceausescus)
Directed by Milo Rau and Simone Eisenring
(Germany, 2010, 72 min.)
Based on authentic video footage and eyewitness accounts, this film examines the final days of Nicolae Ceausescu, head of the communist regime in Romania, and his wife Elena, who were considered the most despotic rulers in post-war Europe.
Goethe-Institut
Mon., May 14, 6:30 p.m.

Westwind
Directed by Robert Thalheim
(Germany, 2011, 90 min.)
In 1988, inseparable 17-year-old twins travel from their East German town to Hungary’s Lake Balaton to train for an upcoming rowing competition, but when they impetuously accept a ride from a West German teen and his mates, resulting attractions threatens the girls’ bond.
Goethe-Institut
Mon., May 7, 6:30 p.m.

Greek

Electra
(Ilektra)
Directed by Michael Cacoyannis
(Greece, 1962, 120 min.)
A rocky landscape photographed in striking black and white becomes “Electra’s” extended stage, completely open and exposed but also hermetic and eternal in Michael Cacoyannis’s theatrical yet blunt rendition of the Greek classic.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., May 26, 3:30 p.m.

Hindi

Bobby
Directed by Raj Kapoor
(India, 1973, 168 min.)
Raj Kapoor’s charming paean to youth, starring his son Rishi, follows a young couple who hit the road pursued by a zany horde of bounty-hunting bandits.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 26, 4:10 p.m.

My Name Is Joker
(Mera Naam Joker)
Directed by Raj Kapoor
(India, 1970, 199 min.)
Raj Kapoor’s legendary film maudlin, about a mopey, love-obsessed clown and his three pathetically failed affairs, is a compulsively watchable, astonishing train wreck of a film.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., May 19, 3 p.m.

Where the Ganges Flows
(Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai)
Directed by Radhu Karmakar
(India, 1960, 182 min.)
Raj Kapoor stars as a bumbling pilgrim to the Ganges who tries to convert a band of brigands into modern-day Robin Hoods.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 12, 3:30 p.m.

Italian

The Salt of Life
(Gianni e le donne)
Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio
(Italy, 2011, 90 min.)
A middle-age retiree contends with an aristocratic, spendthrift mother, a wife who is more patronizing friend than romantic partner, and a daughter with a slacker boyfriend.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

We Have a Pope
(Habemus Papam)
Directed by Nanni Moretti
(Italy/France, 2011, 105 min.)
A cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next pope panics as he’s presented to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. To prevent a worldwide crisis, the Vatican calls in an unlikely psychiatrist who is neither religious nor all that committed. (Italian and multiple other languages)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Unfair World
Directed by Filippos Tsitos
(Greece, 2011, 118 min.)
Every day, a policeman worn down by the demands of his job sits in a dreary office and listens to the sad stories of those accused of crimes. Whether guilty or not, he finds ways to offer a second chance. (Filmfest DC)
The Avalon Theatre

Wed., April 18, 8:30 p.m.,

Thu., April 19, 8:45 p.m.

Japanese

Equinox Flower
(Higanbana)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu
(Japan, 1958, 118 min.)
Yasujiro Ozu’s first color film returns to one of his favorite themes, finding stability in a discordant family “condition,” which in this case is arranged marriages at a time when they were being challenged by the postwar generation.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., May 5, 3:30 p.m.

Flowing
(Nagareru)
Directed by Mikio Naruse
(Japan, 1956, 117 min.)
This plaintive account of the impending demise of a geisha house depicts the relationships among a range of women.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., May 5, 1 p.m.

Only Yesterday
Directed by Isao Takahata
(Japan, 1991, 118 min.)
This period piece about a bored 20-something looking back on her childhood beautifully evokes both the 1960s and 1980s, and the quintessential drama of Japanese school-day nostalgia.
AFI Silver Theatre
Wed., May 2, 7 p.m.

Throne of Blood
(Kumonosu-jô)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1957, 110 min.)
Transforming “Macbeth” into a medieval Japanese legend, Akira Kurosawa masterfully establishes the right mood of obsessive madness and is even more ruthless than the Shakespeare original.
National Gallery of Art
Fri., May 4, 2 p.m.

Kashmiri

Valley of Saints
Directed by Musa Syeed
(India/U.S., 2012, 82 min.)
A frustrated tourist boat operator on Kashmir’s Dal Lake dreams of escaping with his best friend, but when he meets a beautiful American scientist, their blossoming romance disrupts his friendship and dreams for a new life.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., May 13, 2 p.m.

Korean

The Unjust
Directed by Ryu Seung-wan
(South Korea, 2010, 119 min.)
Nicknamed “The Action Kid” in Korea, filmmaker Ryu Seung-wan delivers the best film of his career with this sprawling tale of corruption in the South Korean criminal justice system.
AFI Silver Theatre
Tue., May 22, 6:45 p.m.,
Wed., May 23, 9:20 p.m.

Norwegian

Headhunters
(Hodejegerne)
Directed by Morten Tyldum
(Norway/Germany, 2011, 100 min.)
An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary. (Norwegian and Danish)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., May 4

Russian

The Other Chelsea – A Story from Donetsk
(The Other Chelsea – Eine Geschichte aus Donezk)
Directed by Jakob Preuss
(Germany, 2010, 88 min.)
In a poor coal-mining area of Ukraine, a billionaire invests heavily in the local football club, which is becoming a major European force during the season — yet this sporting success funded by an oligarch fortune only seems to highlight the wider social and political stagnation of the region.
Goethe-Institut
Wed., May 2, 6:30 p.m.

Silent

The Little Princess
Directed by Marshall Neilan
(U.S., 1917, 62 min.)
“America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford stars in this early adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic tale about a strong-willed girl who struggles to fit in at her new boarding school with its cruel headmistress, sent there while her beloved father has gone off to war.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sat., May 19, 1:30 p.m.

Peter Pan
Directed by Herbert Brenon
(U.S., 1924, 105 min.)
In this version long thought to be lost and recently restored, teenager Betty Bronson stars as Peter Pan, the boy who refuses to grow up, and charms Wendy Darling and her brothers to fly with him to Never-Never Land.
AFI Silver Theatre
Sun., May 20, 4:15 p.m.

Turkish

Bride of the Earth
(Seyit Han)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1968, 78 min.)
The first film that Yilmaz Güney acknowledged as a fully realized effort, Bride of the Earth stars the director himself as a man separated from his bride-to-be by the superstitions and feudal conditions of rural life.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., May 20, 2 p.m.

Elegy
(Agit)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1971, 80 min.)
The macho braggadocio and violence of four smugglers working in a desolate, mountainous region is contrasted with the quiet determination of a doctor who ministers to the impoverished villagers as best as she can.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., May 20, 3:30 p.m.

The Friend
(Arkadas)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1974, 100 min.)
At a seaside resort, a wealthy aristocrat from an impoverished small town finds himself reunited with a childhood friend in this film that examines the alienation of the Turkish middle classes by contrasting their empty lives with the struggles of the peasantry.
Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., May 11, 7 p.m.

The Herd
(Sürü)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1978, 129 min.)
“The Herd” has a simple premise that it utilizes to devastating effect: The economic survival of a Kurdish family depends on its ability to drive its herd of sheep from the mountains to Ankara.
Goethe-Institut
Wed., May 9, 6:30 p.m.

Hope
(Umut)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1970, 100 min.)
When one of his horses is killed in a car collision, a cab driver must find a way to keep his large family afloat, so he and a friend set out on a journey across the desert to retrieve a mythical buried treasure — their last remaining hope.
Goethe-Institut
Wed., May 16, 6:30 p.m.

The Hungry Wolves
(Aç kurtlar)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1969, 70 min.)
Both hunter and hunted, a bandit (director Yilmaz Güney) lives in a desolate snowscape, where he becomes increasingly desperate to protect his family from his enemies.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., May 6, 2 p.m.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
(Bir zamanlar Anadolu’da)
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
(Turkey/Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2011, 157 min.)
A murder suspect leads a convoy of police to the site of the crime, but the killer cannot recall where he left the body, so the convey travels through the deserted countryside as conversations along the way reveal not only the facts of the crime but political attitudes and personal longings.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., May 11

The Poor
(Zavallilar)
Directed by Yilmaz Güney and Atif Yilmaz
(Turkey, 1974, 78 min.)
On a winter night as three convicts are released, a complex structure of flashbacks describes how they came to be imprisoned, revealing that their lives have been marked with betrayal, degradation and violence stemming from their poverty.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., May 6, 3:30 p.m.

Yol
Directed by Yilmaz Güney
(Turkey, 1982, 114 min.)
The lives of five prisoners are revealed when they’re allowed a week to return home, where tradition is as much of a prison as a jailhouse itself.
Goethe-Institut
Mon., May 21, 6:30 p.m.